True to your roots

From a $25,000 grant to a $50 million organization. Twenty years ago, the Coalition for Responsible Community Development started with a single city contract for graffiti removal in South LA. Today, it's one of the city’s most respected nonprofits, with workforce development, housing, social enterprise, and real estate development all operating under one roof.  That kind of growth doesn't happen without smart, community-rooted marketing. In this episode, Lee speaks with CRCD's director of marketing and communications, Alex Medina, about the strategy behind it all: how to reach audiences that have little in common with each other, how to build the kind of institutional trust that unlocks major funding, and how to keep your messaging honest and bold when the world might be telling you to play it safe. If you're ready to think differently about how you connect with your community, your funders, and the people you serve, this is where you start.